Lake Kariba’s usable water for power generation has plummeted to 7.68%, according to the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA).
The ZRA update for September 10 states that the lake level is reducing due to higher outflows than inflows.
A few weeks ago, ZESCO Limited warned that it may likely shut down the Kariba North Bank Power Station by September 14. At the time this announcement was made, the dam was down to 10% of its usable water for power generation. The plant is fed from the Kariba Dam and is the country’s largest power generating plant.
Compared to this time last year, the dam was at 24.92% of usable water, making the current status more than three times worse off. Meanwhile, the dam’s usable live storage volume has now depleted to 4.97 billion cubic meters (BCM) against 16.14BCM in 2023.
Lake Kariba is designed to operate at between 475.50 meters and 488.50 meters for power generation. The level is presently at 476.61 meters, just 1.11 meters shy of the minimum level required. In September 2023, it was 479.05 meters.
Should ZESCO proceed to shut down the plant, it will be the first time such an action is taken in the life of the power plant, signifying how acute the drought impact is.
Power supply to residential and business customers has dropped to unpredictable levels with many homes and businesses enduring more than 24 hours of power outages at a time.
